Northumberland
Beautiful, peaceful rolling roads through a neolithic landscape deliver a satisfying big mileage fix
Base yourself on the tiny, but stunning, tidal island of Lindisfarne on your trip to the northeast corner of England and you won’t go far wrong - just keep an eye on the tide and sky or your access to and from the island via its often submerged causeway might be in jeopardy.
The Lindisfarne Inn (see Local Knowledge panel) is owned by cyclists, with bed and board tailored to the needs of riders. The island’s 1000 acres barely constitute an hors d’oeuvre but on the mainland there’s a banquet of riding to be devoured.
Mile upon mile of textbook British B-roads, carved into English countryside, with just enough bends and undulations to hold your interest, tumble out in all directions. Largely free from traffic, they make for essential riding, especially when they open up to reveal the upper reaches punctured with large, toothy crags of rock.
Criss-crossing the River Tweed between Berwick and Kelso, back and forth between England and Scotland, makes for a heavenly ride. A touch further south and the roads linking Wooler, Chatton and Alnwick offer up steeper sections on good quality tarmac. Further west you’ll find The Cheviots, if savage climbing is more to your palate.